90mm M36 Jackson: America's Top Panzer Killer

The M36 was the last and most heavily armed tank destroyer of the US Army’s tank destroyer branch during the Second World War. Created as a more powerful development of the M10 tank destroyer, the M36 was armed with an excellent 90 mm gun that could deal with German tanks most other Allied guns couldn’t.

When the M36 made its debut in 1943, many considered it a game changer in terms of U.S. armor capability.With the potent 90mm main gun, it could theoretically penetrate the frontal armor of the German Panther and Tiger tanks at long ranges. In at least two instances, Jackson crews took out German armor, including a Panther, from more than two miles away.

This is the story of the M36 tank destroyer—its gun design, its development and the role it played in challenging the armored spearheads of Germany’s most feared panzer units.

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